COMMUNITY SURVEY

ON PUBLIC SAFETY

AND LAW ENFORCEMENT
1 | COMMUNITY SURVEY ON PUBLIC SAFETY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT

Your law enforcement agency invites you to take this “Community Survey on Public Safety and 

Law Enforcement.” It will take approximately five minutes of your time and is completely confidential. Your participation will help your agency to improve its services, processes, and reputation.

The survey is designed for a law enforcement agency to gather opinions and experiences from 

members of its community. The survey assesses five key components that involve your local law 

enforcement agency:

l Community involvement

l Safety

l Procedural justice

l Performance

l Contact and satisfaction

You may come into contact with multiple law enforcement agencies, but please answer the questions thinking only about the law enforcement agency that invited you to participate in this survey. 

Whether you are policed by a sheriff’s office, a municipal or regional police department, or another 

type of agency, the term “law enforcement agency” is used throughout the survey to refer to the 

local agency that invited you to participate.

Please indicate your response to each item by selecting the appropriate answer based on your 

feelings, opinions, and experiences. You may skip any survey items you do not feel comfortable 

responding to or know how to answer, but we encourage you to respond to as many items as 

possible. This is not a test, and there are no right or wrong answers. Please answer each 

question honestly.

The “Community Survey on Public Safety and Law Enforcement” was developed by the U.S. 

Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) with the 

support of ICF International and law enforcement experts. 
Community Involvement

1. To what extent does your law enforcement 

agency develop relationships with community 

members (e.g., residents, organizations, 

and groups)?

2 | COMMUNITY SURVEY ON PUBLIC SAFETY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT

2. To what extent does your law enforcement 

agency regularly communicate with 

community members (e.g., websites, e-mails, 

or public meetings)?

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Question

Not

at all A little Somewhat A lot

To a

great 

extent

3. To what extent does your law enforcement 

agency make it easy for community members 

to provide input (e.g., comments, suggestions, 

and concerns)?

4. To what extent does your law enforcement 

agency work together with community 

members to solve local problems?

5. Community policing involves officers in your law 

enforcement agency working with the community 

to address the causes of crime in an effort to 

reduce the problems themselves through a wide 

range of activities. Based on this definition, to 

what extent do you think your law enforcement 

agency practices community policing?

Safety

6. Please select the three (3) issues you think are the greatest problems within your community.

Burglaries/thefts (auto)

Burglaries/thefts (residential)

Child abuse

Child sexual predators / 

Internet safety

Disorderly conduct / public 

intoxication / noise violations

Disorderly youth 

(e.g., cruising or gathering)

Domestic violence (adult)

Driving under the 

influence (i.e., alcohol or drugs)

Drug abuse (e.g., manufacture, 

sale, or use of illegal/prescription drugs)

Fraud / identity theft

Gang activity

Gun violence

Hate crimes

Homeland security problems

Homeless- or transient-related 

problems (panhandling)

Homicide

Mugging

Physical assault

Prostitution

School safety (e.g., bullying, 

fighting, or weapons)

Sexual assault / rape (adult)

Traffic issues /

residential speeding 

Underage drinking

Vandalism/graffiti 
3 | COMMUNITY SURVEY ON PUBLIC SAFETY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT

Question

Not

at all A little Somewhat A lot

To a

great 

extent N/A

Question

Not

at all A little Somewhat A lot

To a

great 

extent

Question

Not

at all A little Somewhat A lot

To a

great 

extent

7. To what extent do you feel safe in your community when you are outside alone during the day?

Question

Decreased

a lot

Decreased

some

Stayed

the same

Increased

some

Increased 

a lot

8. To what extent do you feel safe in your community when you are outside alone at night?

9. Over the last 12 months, to what extent have 

your feelings of safety in your community 

increased, decreased, or stayed the same?

Procedural Justice

10. To what extent do officers in your law 

enforcement agency treat people fairly?

11. To what extent do officers in your 

law enforcement agency show concern

for community members?

12. To what extent are officers in your 

law enforcement agency respectful?

13. To what extent is your law enforcement 

agency responsive to the concerns of 

community members?

14. To what extent do you trust your 

law enforcement agency?

15. If you had contact with an officer in 

your law enforcement agency during 

the past 12 months, to what extent 

did the officer sufficiently explain his 

or her actions and procedures?
4 | COMMUNITY SURVEY ON PUBLIC SAFETY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT

Question 0 times 1–2 times 3–4 times 5–6 times

7 or

more times

Question 0 times 1–2 times 3–4 times 5–6 times

7 or

more times

Performance

Question

Not

at all A little Somewhat A lot

To a

great 

extent

16. To what extent is your law enforcement agency 

effective at proactively preventing crime?

17. To what extent is your law enforcement agency 

addressing the problems that really concern you?

18. To what extent are you satisfied with the overall 

performance of your law enforcement agency?

Question

Very 

dissatisfied Dissatisfied

Neither 

satisfied nor 

dissatisfied Satisfied

Very 

satisfied

Question

Very 

dissatisfied Dissatisfied

Neither 

satisfied nor 

dissatisfied Satisfied

Very 

satisfied

Contact and Satisfaction 

19a. How many times in the past 12 months have 

you had contact with your law enforcement 

agency for traffic issues (e.g., citation, 

warning, or vehicle crash)?

Go to 

question 

20a

19b. To what extent are you satisfied with your 

interaction(s) with your law enforcement 

agency for traffic issues?

20a. How many times in the past 12 months have 

you had contact with your law enforcement 

agency for 911 emergency calls?

Go to 

question 

21a

20b. To what extent are you satisfied with your 

interaction(s) with your law enforcement 

agency for 911 emergency calls?
21a. How many times in the past 12 months have 

you had contact with your law enforcement 

agency for non-emergency calls (e.g., to report 

a crime or suspicious activity)?

Go to 

question 

22a

5 | COMMUNITY SURVEY ON PUBLIC SAFETY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT

 __________

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Question 0 times 1–2 times 3–4 times 5–6 times

7 or

more times

Question

Very 

dissatisfied Dissatisfied

Neither 

satisfied nor 

dissatisfied Satisfied

Very 

satisfied

21b. To what extent are you satisfied with your 

interaction(s) with your law enforcement 

agency for non-emergency calls?

Question 0 times 1–2 times 3–4 times 5–6 times

7 or

more times

22a. How many times in the past 12 months have 

you had contact with your law enforcement 

agency for other contacts or interactions 

(e.g., attend a community meeting or talk 

to an officer on patrol)?

Go to 

question 

23

Question

Very 

dissatisfied Dissatisfied

Neither 

satisfied nor 

dissatisfied Satisfied

Very 

satisfied

22b. To what extent are you satisfied with your 

interaction(s) with your law enforcement 

agency for other contacts or interactions?

Demographics

23. How many years have you lived in your community? years Prefer not to answer

24. What is your gender?

Male

Female

Prefer not to answer
25. Are you Hispanic or Latino? 

Yes

No

 Prefer not to answer

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6 | COMMUNITY SURVEY ON PUBLIC SAFETY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT

26. What is your race?

 American Indian or Alaska Native

 Asian

 Black or African American

 Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander

 White

 Prefer not to answer

27. What is your age group?

 17 years or younger

 18–29 years

 30–39 years

 40–49 years

 50–59 years

 60–69 years

 70 years or older

 Prefer not to answer
U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

145 N Street NE

Washington, DC 20530

To obtain details about COPS Office programs, 

call the COPS Office Response Center at 800-421-6770.

Visit the COPS Office online at www.cops.usdoj.gov.

This project was supported by cooperative

agreement number 2010-RM-WX-K001 awarded 

by the Office of Community Oriented Policing 

Services, U.S. Department of Justice.

e031425636

Published 2014